Disney, Adobe strike multi-year deal to build custom AI models for media and parks operations

Traders Union
All News
Business & Wealth
Companies
Disney, Adobe AI partnership

Highlights

Disney and Adobe announced a multi-year deal to scale custom generative AI models across Disney’s parks, studios, and sports media businesses using Firefly Foundry.
Disney’s Experiences division and StudioLAB have already deployed proprietary AI models, accelerating creative workflows from months to hours for image and concept art generation.
The partnership aims to reduce development costs as Disney faces cost pressures, with management reportedly targeting 20% annual savings and potential job cuts.

AI rollout across parks, studios and sports

As reported by Reuters, the agreement announced Monday centers on scaling generative AI tools across Disney’s theme parks, studio and sports media businesses through custom models built with Adobe’s Firefly Foundry.

The work starts at Disney’s Experiences division, which includes its global theme parks, resorts and cruise lines, and at StudioLAB, the innovation hub within Walt Disney Studios. Adobe is also working with Disney on AI tools intended to boost engagement with sports fans at ESPN and surface more of ESPN’s content archive to audiences.

Through Firefly Foundry, the companies are developing production-ready generative AI models trained on Disney intellectual property. Those models are private and proprietary to Disney.

Development speed and cost implications

Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative, design, and research and development arm behind Disney Experiences, has already deployed a custom image generation model and a sketch-to-image model that turns hand-drawn sketches into fully rendered concept art.

Kyle Laughlin, senior vice president of R&D technology and engineering at Disney, said in an interview that Adobe Foundry is compressing creative work that once took months into hours and days. He said the faster iteration process helps Disney reduce costly changes in the field once projects move into construction, while adding that the tools are not intended to replace roles at Imagineering.

The AI partnership also comes as Disney faces broader cost pressures. Earlier this month, Bloomberg News reported that the company was considering cutting thousands of jobs and had asked some managers to target 20% in annual cost savings.

In our earlier article on a KPMG U.S. CEO survey about AI agents, we noted that many large companies are already seeing efficiency and growth benefits, even if only a small share view the technology as truly transformational so far. The survey also highlighted that AI rollouts are typically paired with continued investment in infrastructure and a strong focus on hiring and retraining, as firms adapt processes and skills for deeper integration.

This material may contain third-party opinions, none of the data and information on this webpage constitutes investment advice according to our Disclaimer. While we adhere to strict Editorial Integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners.